Automatic engine starting device



Aug. 20, 1957 A. TAMBURELLO AUTOMATIC ENGINE STARTING DEVICE Filed Aug.17, 1955 Exam e/lmhorgy Emburello aomqvlllcpozyall, Williams HershAUTUMATIC ENGINE STARTING DEVICE Anthony Tamhureilo, Chicago, lil.

Application August 17, 1955, Serial No. 528,955

2 Claims. (Cl. 123-179) This invention relates to internal combustionengines, particularly as applied to automotive vehicles, and pertainsmore specifically to electrically operable apparatus for starting suchengines.

One principal object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved device for automatically restarting an engine after it has beeninadvertently stalled.

A further object is to provide a new and improved deviceof the foregoingcharacter which will automatically start the engine upon actuation of amanually operable master switch which also controls the energization ofthe ignition circuit.

Anotherobject is to provide a newnand improved engine restarting devicewhich is applicable to an engine equipped with an automatic transmission.and is arranged so that the engine will not be restarted until theautomatic transmission is shifted into neutral position.

It is a further object to provide a new and improved automaticrestarting device which is equipped with a manually operable selectorswitch adapted to cut out the automatic control so that the starting ofthe engine may be controlled manually, if desired.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description, taken with the accompanying drawing, in which thesingle figure is a schematic representation of an automotive enginearrangement equipped with an automatic starting device constituting anillustrative embodiment of the invention.

It will be seen that the drawing illustrates an automctive engine of thetype including a pump 10, operable by the engine, for developing fluidpressure during normal engine operation. The pump It may serve todevelop lubricant pressure for lubrication of the engine or atransmission connected thereto, or may develop hydraulic pressure forcarrying out various control functions. The illustrated pump has aninlet conduit 12 for receiving oil or other fluid and an outlet conduit14 adapted to carry the oil to the engine bearings or other componentsrequiring fluid pressure.

An electric starter motor 16 is provided to crank the engine, theillustrated motor 16 being of a conventional type including an armature18 anda field winding 20 connected inseries. One side of the startermotor is grounded to themetallic body or frame of the engine, the frameserving as a return path for the electric current. The starter motor 16is adapted to be energized by an electric storage battery 22 havinggrounded and ungroundedterminals 24 and 26. An energizing circuit 28extends between the ungrounded terminal 26 of the battery and .the:starter motor 516. It will be seen that a normally open relay switch 30is connected in series with the starter motor circuit 28. Closure of theswitch 39 is effective -to-cornplete the'circuit'28 and energize thestarter motor.

A solenoid or relay winding 32 is provided to close the relay switch 30,one side of the relay winding being grounded. The other side of therelay winding 32 is conand start positions.

motor.

trol over the starting of the engine.

fitted in one end of .the housing 58.

oil.

2,803,236 Patented .Aug. 20, 1957 ice 2 nected in a control'circuit 34which extends to the ungrounded terminal '26 of the battery 22. Amanually operable, normally open master switch 36 is in series with thecontrol circuit 34. .The master switch 36 may be arranged to be operatedby the ignition lock '33 of the engine. In fact, the master switch 36may constitute the master ignition switch of the engine. In'the commonmanner, the ignition lock 38 is provided with off, on In the oifposition, the master switch 36 is open, but it may be turned on byshifting the ignition lock to the on position. The start position is ofuse only when the automatic starting device is cut out, in the manner tobe described presently. It should be noted that'the master switchremains closed when the ignition lock is shifted to the start position.

In the illustrated arrangement, a safety switch 40 is connectedin'series with the master switch 36. The safety switch is operable by aselector lever 42 which also serves to control an automatic transmissionconnected to the engine. In the common manner, the selector lever 42 hadriving neutral, low and reverse positions. The arrangement is such thatthe switch 40 is open except when the selector lever 42 is in theneutral position. In this way, the lever must be moved to the neutralposition before the engine can be cranked by an electric starter Thisarrangement prevents undesired movement of the vehicle when the engineis being started.

Two branches 44 and 46 are provided in the control circuit 34. Eachbranch returns to the relay winding 32. A single pole double throwswitch 48 is arranged so that either of the branches may be switchedinto the control circuit. To provide for automatic engine restarting, anautomatic control switch 49 is connected in series with the branch 44.The branch 46 provides for manual con- Thus, a normally open manuallyoperable switch 50 is connected in series with the branch 46. The switchSit may be coupled mechanically to the ignition lock 38 so as to beclosed when .the ignition lock is shifted to the start position.

52 and 54 mounted on an insulating block 56 which is received in ahousing 58. A pressure chamber 60 is de- One wall of the pressurechamber 60 is formed by a flexible sealing disk 62 of synthetic rubberor othersimilar rubberlike material. The circular outer edge of the disk62 is seated against the. shoulder 64 formed in the housing 58. Abovethe sealing disk 62. is al flexible, resilient diaphragm 66 made ofmetal or some other suitable material. It will be seen that .the:diaphragm 66 is formed so as to be slightly convex downwardly. T hediaphragm is adapted to be flexed upwardly by' fluid pressure in thechamber When the pressure is lost, the diaphragm returns downwardly byits own inherent resilience. Above the diaphragm, metal and fiberwashers 63 and 7% are interposed as .spacersflbetween thegdiaphragm: 66and the'insulating block 56. The upper end of the housing 58 has aportion 72 which is crimped or otherwise formed inwardly so as to defineflange means retaining the insulating block 56 securely against thefiber spacer 70. An operating connection is provided between thediaphragm .66 and the contact 52 by means of an insulating pin or shaft7i, extending between the diaphragm and a spring arm 76 which supports'the contact 52, the spacers 68 and 70 being axially apertured so thatthe pin 74 may pass therethrough.

A fluid carrying conduit 78 is connected between the outlet 14 of theoil pump 10 and a passage 8i extending 3 through the housing 58 into thepressure chamber 60. When the engine i running normally, lubricantpressure is developed in the outlet conduit 14. The conduit 78 transmitsthe fluid pressure to the pressure chamber 60, with the result that thediaphragm 66 is flexed upwardly so as to open the contacts 52 and 54.Thus, the relay winding 32 is disconnected from the battery 22, assumingthat the selector switch 48 is in its automatic position so as toconnect the branch 44 into the circuit 34. When the engine isinadvertently stalled, the engine oil pressure will be lost, with theresult that the diaphragm 66 returns downwardly by its own resilience.Accordingly, the contacts 52 and 54 are closed by the v resilience ofthe spring arm 76. This completes an energizing circuit from the battery22 to the relay winding 32. The energizing circuit includes the masterswitch 36, the safety switch 40, the selector switch 48, together withthe contacts 52 and 54. The relay winding 32 will be energized providedthat the selector lever 42 of the automatic transmission is in itsneutral position so as to close the safety switch 40. It is alsonecessary that the master switch 36 be in its closed position. This isnormally the case when the engine is stalled inadvertently.

The energization of the relay winding 32 closes the relay switch 30 andthereby brings about energization of the starter motor 16. As a result,the engine is restarted. Such automatic restarting occurs whenever theengine oil pressure drops to zero due to inadvertent stalling of theengine, provided that the transmission selector lever 42 is shifted intoits neutral position.

If it is desired to restart the engine under manual control, theselector switch 48 may be shifted to its manual position so as to cutout the automatic switch 49 and introduce the manual starter switch 50into the control circuit 34. The switch 50 may then be operated byturning the ignition lock 38 to its start position. Here again, it isnecessary to shift the transmission lever 42 to its neutral position inorder to bring about energization of the starter motor. It will be seenthat the switches 48 and 50 effectively bypass the automatic switch 49.

With the selector switch 48 in its automatic position, the engine isstarted initially by shifting the transmission lever 42 to neutral andturning the ignition lock 38 to its on position. With the engine out ofoperation, the oil pressure is zero and the automatic switch 49 isclosed. Accordingly, moving the master switch 36 to its closed positioncompletes the energizing circuit to the starter relay 32. It is notnecessary to shift the ignition lock 38 to its start position. As soonas the engine starts, the oil pressure builds up and opens the automaticswitch 49. This deenergizes the starter motor.

With the starting device of the present invention, the engine may berestarted in a minimum of time and with a minimum of effort when it isinadvertently stalled. The driver need only move the transmissionselector lever to its neutral position to restart the engine. Althoughthe neutral safety switch is desirable, those skilled in the art willunderstand that it may be omitted in some cases. It will also beunderstood that the automatic starting device is applicable to vehiclesequipped with manually operable transmissions with or without a neutralsafety switch. Of course, the clutch of such a vehicle should bedisengaged or the transmission gears moved to their neutral position tofacilitate the cranking of the engine and prevent undesired movement ofthe vehicle.

Various other modifications, alternative constructions and equivalentsmay be employed without departing from the true spirit and scope of theinvention as exemplified in the foregoing description and defined in thefollowing claims:

I claim:

1. In an automotive vehicle having an automatic transmission providedwith selector means for controlling operation thereof and connected toan engine equipped with an electric starter motor, an oil pump, and anelectric battery, the combination comprising a starter motor circuitextending between said battery and said starter motor and including anormally open relay switch operable to energize said starter motor, arelay winding for actuating said relay switch, a control circuitextending between said battery and said relay winding and including amanually operable master switch in series with said control circuit, asafety switch in series with said master switch and connected to andoperable by said selector means so as to be closed with said selectormeans in neutral position, a first branch circuit extending to saidrelay winding and including an automatic control switch in series withsaid first branch circuit, a second branch circuit extending to saidrelay winding and including a normally open manually closable switch, asingle pole double throw selector switch connected to said branchcircuits and in series with said control circuit for selectivelyswitching either of said branch circuits into said control circuit toprovide for either automatic or manual control over said relay winding,said automatic control switch having normally closed contacts, apressure-responsive element for opening said contacts, means connectingsaid pressure-responsive element to said oil pump for actuating saidcontacts to open position in response to the development of oil pressureby said pump during normal engine operation, said automatic switchincluding resilient means for restoring said contacts to closed positionin consequence of loss of oil pressure when said engine is stalled, saidcontacts thereupon being elfective to energize said relay winding andthereby actuate said starter motor to restart said engine.

2. In an engine equipped with an electric starter motor, an oil pump,and an electric battery, the combination comprising a starter motorcircuit extending between said battery and said starter motor andincluding a normally open relay switch operable to energize said startermotor, a relay winding for actuating said relay switch, a controlcircuit extending between said battery and said relay winding andincluding a manually operable master switch in series with said controlcircuit, a first branch circuit extending to said relay winding andincluding an automatic control switch in series with said first branchcircuit, a second branch circuit extending to said relay winding andincluding a normally open manually closable switch for selectivelyswitching either of said branch circuits into said control circuit toprovide for either automatic or manual control over said relay winding,said automatic control switch having normally closed contacts, apressure-responsive element for opening said contacts, means connectingsaid pressure-responsive element to said oil pump for actuating saidcontacts to open position in response to the development of oil pressureby said pump during normal engine operation, and resilient means forrestoring said contacts to closed position in consequence of loss of oilpressure when said engine is stalled, said contacts thereupon beingeffective to energize said relay winding and thereby actuate saidstarter motor to restart said engine.

Collins Aug. 3, 1954 Cofiey Nov. 23, 1954

